via Denver Post
Updated: 12/10/2009 01:09:52 PM MST
As many as nine train cars derailed on a bridge over Colorado 72 at the entrance to Coal Creek Canyon in Jefferson County this morning, sending a tanker car down to the highway below and leaving a second car dangling from the bridge.
Jefferson County Sheriff's department spokeswoman Jacki Kelley said the accident has likely resulted in a hazardous materials spill. She said no injuries have been reported.
Although about 15 emergency response vehicles are waiting at the intersection of Colorado highways 72 and 93, southwest of the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, only Union Pacific officals have been allowed to go to the accident site, Kelley said.
Colorado 72 remains closed.
Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_13969065#ixzz0ZJoUhW4m
Updated: 12/10/2009 03:00:52 PM MST
About a dozen train cars derailed on a bridge over Colorado 72 at the entrance to Coal Creek Canyon in Jefferson County this morning, sending a "grain car" down to the highway below and leaving a second car dangling from the bridge.
Colorado Department of Transportation workers at a road maintenance facility near the crash site said they hears a loud crashing sound at about 11:39 a.m. and looked out to see cars tumbling off the track and rolling down the embankment toward them.
"It was unreal," said one worker, who refused to give his name.
The workers said the freight train was being pulled by four Union Pacific engines along track that makes a wide curve around the CDOT maintenance facility before it crosses Colorado 72 and begins its climb up the canyon. One derailed car tumbled toward the maintenance area but stopped short of hitting any structure there.
The engines stopped about 200 yards uphill from crash.
The workers said they rushed to the highway to make sure that the tanker that plummeted off the bridge had not crushed automobiles.
Jefferson County Sheriff's department spokeswoman Jacki Kelley said no injuries have been reported.
Colorado 72 remains closed and the bridge over the busy highway suffered damage in the derailment.
"It looks as though there is some damage to the bridge," Kelley said.
Among the dozen or so cars on the freight train was a gasoline tanker, Kelley said."There was one gasoline tanker and it was empty, thank God," Kelley said. "It would have been an entirely different situation" had gas spilled.Blue Mountain Estates, a subdivision of about 200 homes, has been cut off by the train derailment.Residents there received a reverse 911 call about the train derailment.Cranes on flat bed trucks have been arriving at the scene to clear the highway as soon as possible, perhaps by 6:30 p.m.Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/ci_13969065#ixzz0ZKEaamMQ
Train derails west of Denver, car falls 25 feetThe Associated Press
Thursday, December 10, 2009
GOLDEN, Colo. — A freight train derailed near the foothills west of Denver Thursday, sending an empty grain car plunging about 25 feet to the roadway below.
The car didn't hit any vehicles on Colorado 72, a small highway that connects mountain communities to the Denver suburbs, and no injuries were reported.
The 94-car Union Pacific train was crossing a bridge over the highway at the entrance to Coal Creek Canyon when eight empty cars derailed, said railroad spokesman Mark Davis.
Colorado 72 reopened Thursday evening.
The tracks above it carry both freight trains and a soon-to-be reopened passenger train that takes skiers from Denver to the mountains.
It's not yet known why the train derailed.
The accident happened one day after a coal train derailed in Colorado Springs.
A picture of the Frieghtline and bridge where the derailment happened in the summer months. by Daviad Langdon
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